Hypertension meds with Pv

[Pinkandgreen]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if most people with PV also have high blood pressure and if so, which medication works well?

My husband is 41, diagnosed in 2016 with PV and has high blood pressure that doesn't respond well to medication. He also has a high resting pulse rate.

Does anyone identify with this?

Thanks very much!

[tracey13]

My husband had high BP initially but soon as his HCT came down his BP has been fine.

[Pinkandgreen in reply to tracey13]

I am glad for you. Hopefully that will also be the case

[Susana7]

Hi, I have that too! The very high blood pressure and pulse rate were in fact what led to my PV diagnosis after multiple investigations. I take Amlodipine for the hypertension and Pegasys keeps my counts within range. Susana x

[Pinkandgreen in reply to Susana7]

Thank you! Did your pulse rate go down?

[Susana7 in reply to Pinkandgreen]

It did eventually, when they put me on a beta blocker, the name of which I cannot recall. In 2014, before the PV diagnosis, my blood pressure was found to be extremely high at 123/110 and the heart rate was 130 so I was sent straight to hospital where I stayed several days for investigations . I was put on Amlodipine and a beta blocker, as Amlodipine alone did not reduce the levels enough. The beta blocker was very effective in reducing the heart rate and blood pressure but it made me extremely tired. So I stopped it after 3 months and just kept the Amlodipine at 10 mg - which now seems to keep the blood pressure within the high end of normal (around 140/75) and the heart rate around 70-80 (which has always been my normal rate). This episode led to the discovery of PV and I was put on aspirin and Pegasys and my bloods normalised within a year. I was lucky not to have a heart attack or a stroke before the PV diagnosis. I hope your husband manages to control his BP and heart rate. Susana x

[Kari1961]

I have high BP - and take Ramipril and Verapimal. My BP tends to go down after successful venesection and then rises as my HCT rises. So I've been prescribed a lower dose Ramipril. I tried a number of ACE inhibitors/Beta Blockers before this combination and they were all unsuccessful in lowering my BP.

[Pinkandgreen in reply to Kari1961]

Thank you for sharing!

[hunter5582]

I also had high BP (resting - 135/95 - with high spikes 204/110 when in pain/stress) as a component of JAK2+PV. The issue is the hyperviscosity of the blood. When it is just too thick, it does not move well through the blood vessels. Once I got on a regimen of phlebotomy and my erythrocyte levels dropped, my BP went down (resting - 115/75 or lower - spikes - 140/70ish). I also lost 50 pounds, which certainly helps as well.

I was on Losartan 25mg when my BP was high. Worked well and was very easy to tolerate. Actually had to drop the dose as at times I was starting to get a bit hypotensive. I currently take a half-dose (12.5mg) as prophylaxis due to my past history of hypertension. I did not tolerate Lisinopril (ace inhibitor cough).

Regarding the high resting heart rate, I have had that too. I was diagnosed with paroxysmal atrial tachycardia in April 2018. Could not tolerate the Atenolol (Beta Blocker) nor the Diltiazem (Calcium channel blocker) due to side effects. I ended up getting the surgery (catheter ablation) which was successful. Both of the heart rate meds are also used for hypertension - but I did not stay on them so can't really rate them for that purpose.

If your husband is JAK2 positive, then you may want to learn more about the role this plays in the overproduction of inflammatory cytokines. Systemic inflammation can have many manifestations and is not our body's friend.

Hope that helps

[Pinkandgreen in reply to hunter5582]

Thank you! This is very informative and helpful.